Vietnam Urban Forum

Archive for the ‘forum wow’ Category

Forum meant a public square or marketplace in Roman Empire that was the assembly place for judicial

activity and public business.

Dictionary defines forum as public meeting place for open discussion.

Internet forums had the same objective of discussion on various topics when they were started. But now they are also good and effective marketing channels.

A place where crowd gathers would sooner or later become a marketplace.

Web forums, message boards, discussion boards, discussion groups, discussion forums, bulletin boards are the synonyms that are often used for forums.

By definition, internet forum is a web based application that is used for holding discussion on user generated content.

Forums are not a new thing to web. Since basic objective of web was communication, forums came into existence quite early. Earlier forums had simple structure and functionality.

From historical point of view, forums have become quite evolved.

Because forum users often visit the forum regularly, discuss matters, they get to know each other and sense of community develops.

A forum would typically consist of forum administrator(s), moderators and users who are also called members. A forum is generally divided into several sub forums. Depending upon the access granted a user may use all or few of them.

When you go to a forum, you would need to open an account which is usually free. A few forums however have paid access. So you would need to check.

After you register, you become a registered member of the forum and allowed to post content and ask questions if you need to.

A forum is a community indeed. You would find different level of users. There would be newbies and there would be old guns who are generally very much respected in the community.

A forum administrator is the top in the ladder. Forum administrator typically has the power to edit, delete, move or modify any thread on the forum, change major software items, change global skins, modify the board, and ban, delete, or create members.

Moderators have few of these powers including editing, deleting, and moving threads, mass pruning, warning members for offences, and changing minor forum details. Usually there are more than one moderators who are chosen from the users.

Forums are present all over the net and almost in each niche. You can search for the list of forums in your niche in your favorite search engine.

Each forum has its own set of rules and guidelines which you need to abide by when you use that forum.

It is good step to join a forum. You would find answer to the problems you face and would build a rapport with your fellow members.

This in long run would prove quite productive for your business.

Last month a forum site in my niche was second only to Google in the amount of qualified, targeted traffic it generated for my sales page.

How long did it take me to generate this avalanche of traffic? 20 minutes, including registering for the forum! Now, that’s what I call an efficient way to use my time…

Every niche has forums; you can find them by searching in your favorite search engine for “niche forum”. Try searching for “internet marketing forum” sometime and you’ll be amazed at the number of results that come up.

When you’re selecting a forum to join consider how popular the forum is, how easy it is to find and read some of the other posts. Posting on the right forums will build your reputation and grow your business by generating pre-qualified traffic for your sales page. Posting on the wrong forum, one that has poor ranking and few visitors may have the opposite effect.

Once you’ve found a forum where you would like to post, then you’ll need to register in order to make contributions.

When you’ve registered, you simply search for relevant threads (discussion topics) and post your response.

When you post your response you can write it like a letter, sign it with your name and then include the url for your sales page. This will look just like a professional letter, where people write their title or position after their name. Writing your url after your name in a forum post will give it weight in the mind of the person reading your post.

The tone of your posts should fit in with the tone of the discussion thread you’re posting within. Some forums are more formal in their relations than others, and some posts within forums can be more or less formal in their posts.

The key to successful traffic generation using this Forum Post Strategy is never, never advertising your site or products. If the forum users think you are using their forum for promotional purposes, then chances are you’ll be banned. Or community members will post negative remarks about you and that can be even more damaging to your online reputation!

The point to posting on forums is to build yourself a reputation as an expert in your targeted niche while getting exposure for the url of your sales page. So your posts should be information rich for the forum users and keyword rich in order to get the post appropriately ranked in the search engines.

The beauty of posting on targeted niche forums is that you can follow discussion threads and continue to build your reputation as an expert by coming back from time to time to add further information to the topic.

As I said in the opening paragraph, I have used this strategy effectively to generate targeted traffic to my sales pages. Additionally, I have leveraged the time spent posting in niche forums by building relationships with other forum members. Thanks to my posts in forums I now have several endorsements in the forums, and links to my sales page from the blogs of several community members.

Forums are one of the most interactive places on the Internet where you’ll see huge amounts of traffic on a regular basis. People constantly post messages regarding their opinions on various issues and they also ask questions that are addressed by other forum members. You can find forums that discuss issues related to just about any line of business and take part in the ongoing conversation. Many forums let you add a signature file to your post – here is where you place your website link. You’ll find that many forums are ranked high by the search engines, so you’ll benefit from forum links to your website.

Be Sure To Post Useful Information -

Forums are a very beneficial traffic building strategy. You’ll come across a lot of marketers trying to sell on forums, but the right thing to do here is to establish yourself as an expert in your field. When this happens, people begin to have faith in your knowledge. They are in a better state of mind to visit your website and consider your product, simply because they believe what you say.

How To Go About It

Forums are online, active discussion areas where members voice their opinions, answer questions that are posed by other members and share relevant information that might be useful to the entire readership. Forums are not a place where you can sell directly with a sales message. Your aim must be to contribute information.

You can easily find numerous forums for your specific keyword relating to your business. An easy and quick way to find related forums is to search Google with the following search term – “ebook + forum” Be sure to use the double quotes and replace the word ebook with your own particular topic of interest.

Become a member of several of these. Many forums let you update your profile, which you can make visible to the public. You can also create what is called a signature – which will be appended to the end of every message you post on the forum. Just put a short message along with your URL. Those who are interested in your message will almost always click to find out more. You can then introduce yourself in the forum. Resist the temptation to write any hard sell message – just introduce yourself and perhaps give a brief explanation of what you do. Generally, most forum members will respond by welcoming you into the forum. It’s a good idea to thank each and every one of them – each post you make puts up another link to your website with your signature.

Participating In The Forum

Browse around the forum posts to see whether you can make a meaningful contribution to a thread of conversations or answer any questions that are yet to be responded to. Always remember to come across as someone with the knowledge to be a part of the forum. For example, you cannot ask them to click through a URL where they can find the answer in your book! That’s not what you are here for. Regular participation will build your credibility and show you up as someone who is genuinely interested in the topic. Trust will build through your communication and then eventually, they’ll visit your website – not only that, they’ll also recommend you to others.

Building The List Through The Forum

One of the main goals of being on the forum is to build a targeted list for your business. You’ll want to continuously enhance your knowledge of your subject and active forum topics. Start a relevant thread of a current issue and write meaningful information. Don’t ever try to sell your product directly on the forum. Everyone on the forum can see your links in your signature.

You may have heard it said that everybody likes to ‘buy’, but no one likes to be ’sold’. If they see you as someone who is there to sell, they’ll never click your link. Most forum members will rate your product by the kind of messages you post. Share positive experiences related to the forum content. Offer tips that will successfully increase their profits or add to their skills If you have a constant presence in the forum, that makes a difference too. The effect here is, when people perceive you as an expert whose ideas work for them, they trust you and feel eager to click through your link to know more. They will not mind giving you their contact information to subscribe to your list.